Surf champ to discuss drugs, peer pressure in H.B.

Former champion surfer Shaun Tomson will be speaking at the Huntington Beach High School, which is grappling with how do deal with drug use. Tomson will be discussing his book "The Code." PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

It was on the North Shore of Hawaii, and Shaun Tomson’s first season of chasing big waves back in the ‘70s.

A friend – who he calls John – offered him heroin.

It was one of those moments in life where if Tomson made the wrong decision, the South African surfer could have gone down a disastrous path. He declined the offer and went on to win a world championship in 1977, while his friend John died of an overdose.

The details are explained in the first chapter of Tomson’s newly released book “The Code,” which he will discuss at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Huntington Beach High School, a campus that is grappling with how to deal with the influx of drug use among students. The discussion is open to the public.

The school was dealt a blow last year when lacrosse player Tyler Macleod died from heroin use. Earlier this year, former surf team member Chris Love died after a deadly concoction of drugs.

Statistics released by the coroner's office a few months ago show there has been a 61 percent increase in drug-related deaths for people 15 to 22 in Orange County since 2007, according to Register archives.

“I think it’s just a constant fight, and a constant reminder for people in Orange County to never let your guard down and live a life free of drugs,” said Huntington Beach High School surf coach Andy Verdone. ”We have to fight together.”

Peer pressure issues go beyond drugs, and kids are faced with decisions every day. In Tomson’s book, he writes about how his son Mathew died at home at 15 while doing the “choking game.”

“Take a moment to listen to yourself, to be yourself. Not what you think others may want you to be,” Tomson writes in the book. “Think about the repercussions. Think twice. If you do that, you’ll make the right decisions.”

Huntington Beach High School recently administered its first round of voluntary drug testing, giving urine tests to 10 students. While it’s illegal to do mandatory drug testing, a packet was given to parents and students to sign at the beginning of the year, and if they complied, students could be picked at random through the year to be tested.

The drug testing is just one way the school has approached the drug issue, along with parent meetings and lectures like the one with Tomson, said Gina Gleason, head of the Parent Teacher Student Association.

“We’re continuing to shine the spotlight in those dark corners to make sure we’re getting the world out to everybody about the risks and negative consequences that are involved with drugs and alcohol,” she said.

Only the people at Hired Power who administer the drug test know the results, and send parents a notification in the mail. Students don’t face any reprimand from the school district if they test positive. Gleason hopes to get enough funding to do 25 tests a month during the school year. The tests look for 12 different recreational drugs, including drugs that mask the drug, Gleason said.

Gleason said Huntington Beach is not alone in its fight against drugs, and schools across the country are trying to save students lives. She hopes Tomson’s talk has an impact on the students.

The book details 12 stories and “codes” to live by, each starting with the words “I will.” The first addressing drug use is titled “I will be myself.”

“Taking drugs wasn’t a part of who I was, so it was easy to be myself and say no,” Tomson writes in the book. “But sometimes it can be really hard to say no in those circumstances. You have to think about who you are and what you stand for.”

Former champion surfer Shaun Tomson will be speaking at the Huntington Beach High School, which is grappling with how do deal with drug use. Tomson will be discussing his book "The Code." PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
South African surf legend Shaun Tomson, here at the Surfers' Hall of Fame, will be speaking about his book "The Code," at the Huntington Beach High School next Tuesday. The talk is open to the public. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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